Sudan: Darfur Regional Body Launched
By Staff Writer
NYALA--President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir has launched a developmental body in the war-stricken western region of Darfur intended to put an end into the long-standing conflict.
The new Darfur Regional Authority formed as part of a peace deal to end conflict in the region aims to share power and wealth, compensate those affected by war and help resettle those displaced.
The body was formed following a peace deal between the government and Darfur’s Liberty and Justice Movement (LJM) rebel group signed last year in the Qatari capital, Doha, which was rejected by three other major rebel movements fighting in the region.
The DRA which will constitute of government nominees, members of civil society and representatives from the LJM is tasked to implement the Doha deal, apart from other wide responsibilities for post-war reconstruction, reconciliation and good governance of Darfur.
During its official inauguration in the regional capital of Fasher, President Bashir called for Darfuris to return to their homes, promising “peace security and services” to the residents.
"It is not acceptable for Darfuri people to live in the camps. We want all the people in the camps to return to their villages," Bashir was quoted saying by the AFP news agency.
He also announced the release of all the LJM prisoners, a gesture which was not extended to the region’s three other rebel groups that had rejected the peace deal.
So far it is unclear how the body which will be headed by LJM leader Tijani Sese will be funded, as critics have raised concerns on how it will co-exist with other authorities like the state governors who are part of it, but are unlikely to accept a reduction in their powers.
Though fighting in Darfur where a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission is deployed has died down since 2006, the region still remains extremely dangerous due to continued clashes over land and grazing rights.
The African farmer communities in the region have accused the Khartoum government of oppressing them in favour of the nomadic Arabs that led to spark of the rebellion in 2003.
More than 300,000 people have died in the fighting since then with over 2 million remaining displaced. The Hague based International Criminal Court re-issued a warrant of arrest early this year against al-Bashir alongside three others for genocide and war crimes charges in the region.
Darfur's most powerful rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), remains in disarray since killing of its leader, Khalil Ibrahim, in December.